Iraq vs South Korea Prediction and Betting Tips | June 5th 2025

Iraq will face South Korea at the Basra International Stadium on Thursday in the penultimate game of their third-round 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The home side endured disappointing results during the last international break, but remain hopeful of securing direct advancement to their first World Cup in four decades.

They were beaten 2-1 by Palestine in their last match and had looked set to be headed toward maximum points on the road following Aymen Hussein's first-half strike before their opponents scored twice in the dying minutes of the game to secure a surprise win.

South Korea enjoyed a bright start to their qualifying campaign but have failed to make their dominance count in recent outings. They played out a third consecutive 1-1 draw when they locked horns with Jordan last time out, with Mainz's Jae-Sung Lee opening the scoring after just five minutes before an own goal from Kyung-won Kwon later in the half denied the Taegeuk Warriors maximum points at home.

The visitors, however, remain atop Group B with 16 points from eight matches and will confirm a spot in next year's World Cup with just a point on Thursday.

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Iraq vs South Korea Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• There have been 27 meetings between Iraq and South Korea. The home side have won five of those games while the visitors have won 11 times, with their other 11 contests ending in draws.
• The visitors have won their last three games in this fixture and are undefeated in their last seven.
• Both sides have conceded seven goals in their qualifying campaign so far, the joint-fewest in Group B alongside Jordan.
• South Korea are the highest-scoring side in Group B with a goal tally of 14.

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Iraq vs South Korea Prediction

The Lions of Mesopotamia are winless in their last four matches, with three of those games ending in defeat. They, however, have the best home record in Group B with eight points from four games and will head into the midweek clash with confidence.

The Taegeuk Warriors have drawn their last three matches but remain undefeated in their last 12. They are by far the stronger side ahead of Thursday's game and should win this one.

Prediction: Iraq 0-1 South Korea

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Iraq vs South Korea Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: South Korea to win

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Three of the visitors' last four matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of their last six matchups)